Narrative:

Flight attendant and I were in the aft galley when we heard a commotion by the rear lavatories. We saw an elderly gentleman bent over with his head in his son's arms. We had the gentlemen situation on the flight attendant jumpseat. I asked the passenger's son if his father was on medication or if he had medical problems. He said yes. We got an oxygen bottle and I gave it to him. I then called the front cabin to let them know we had a medical emergency that we were assessing. We put him on the galley floor and he was having difficulty breathing. I paged an 'md' or 'do.' 2 md's and 1 emt came to the galley. I then retrieved the medical kit and aed. After giving these to the md and emt; they hooked the passenger up to an iv and then began cpr with a cabin attendant doing the compressions and the md doing the breathing. The md wanted to know what medication the passenger was on; so I got this and then called out to the doctor what was in his medication bag. The md and emt said we needed to land and I relayed this to the pilots. They got back to me immediately to say we were landing in ZZZ as soon as possible. I took over compressions during landing until the paramedics told me to stop. We needed more surgical gloves than were provided on this aircraft. Our passenger had a pacemaker and; therefore; the aed would not signal to shock our passenger. I believe there should be information provided about what to do when you know a passenger has no pulse; is not breathing; has a pacemaker and the aed says not to shock your passenger. The doctor; emt; and flight attendant did a fabulous job trying to revive our passenger. He was finally pronounced doa at a hospital in ZZZ.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: FLT ATTENDANTS; MD'S; AND AN EMT WORK TO TRY TO SAVE AN ELDERLY PAX SUFFERING FROM AN ULTIMATELY FATAL AIRBORNE MEDICAL INCIDENT.

Narrative: FLT ATTENDANT AND I WERE IN THE AFT GALLEY WHEN WE HEARD A COMMOTION BY THE REAR LAVATORIES. WE SAW AN ELDERLY GENTLEMAN BENT OVER WITH HIS HEAD IN HIS SON'S ARMS. WE HAD THE GENTLEMEN SIT ON THE FLT ATTENDANT JUMPSEAT. I ASKED THE PAX'S SON IF HIS FATHER WAS ON MEDICATION OR IF HE HAD MEDICAL PROBS. HE SAID YES. WE GOT AN OXYGEN BOTTLE AND I GAVE IT TO HIM. I THEN CALLED THE FRONT CABIN TO LET THEM KNOW WE HAD A MEDICAL EMER THAT WE WERE ASSESSING. WE PUT HIM ON THE GALLEY FLOOR AND HE WAS HAVING DIFFICULTY BREATHING. I PAGED AN 'MD' OR 'DO.' 2 MD'S AND 1 EMT CAME TO THE GALLEY. I THEN RETRIEVED THE MEDICAL KIT AND AED. AFTER GIVING THESE TO THE MD AND EMT; THEY HOOKED THE PAX UP TO AN IV AND THEN BEGAN CPR WITH A CABIN ATTENDANT DOING THE COMPRESSIONS AND THE MD DOING THE BREATHING. THE MD WANTED TO KNOW WHAT MEDICATION THE PAX WAS ON; SO I GOT THIS AND THEN CALLED OUT TO THE DOCTOR WHAT WAS IN HIS MEDICATION BAG. THE MD AND EMT SAID WE NEEDED TO LAND AND I RELAYED THIS TO THE PLTS. THEY GOT BACK TO ME IMMEDIATELY TO SAY WE WERE LNDG IN ZZZ ASAP. I TOOK OVER COMPRESSIONS DURING LNDG UNTIL THE PARAMEDICS TOLD ME TO STOP. WE NEEDED MORE SURGICAL GLOVES THAN WERE PROVIDED ON THIS ACFT. OUR PAX HAD A PACEMAKER AND; THEREFORE; THE AED WOULD NOT SIGNAL TO SHOCK OUR PAX. I BELIEVE THERE SHOULD BE INFO PROVIDED ABOUT WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU KNOW A PAX HAS NO PULSE; IS NOT BREATHING; HAS A PACEMAKER AND THE AED SAYS NOT TO SHOCK YOUR PAX. THE DOCTOR; EMT; AND FLT ATTENDANT DID A FABULOUS JOB TRYING TO REVIVE OUR PAX. HE WAS FINALLY PRONOUNCED DOA AT A HOSPITAL IN ZZZ.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of January 2009 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.